Envision Schools

Envision Education
California
Information
Type	Charter schools
Founded	2002
Founder	Bob Lenz & Daniel McLaughlin [1]
Website	envisionschools.org

Envision Education is a Bay Area network of charter schools, founded in June 2002 by Daniel McLaughlin and Bob Lenz, ^[2] that currently runs five public middle and high Envision Schools in the San Francisco Bay Area. ^[3]

Envision also operates Envision Learning Partners, a coaching and training division working with schools across the country to adapt and adopt the Portfolio Defense model.  ELP works with more than 1,000 educators in 30+ school networks and reaching more than 200,000 students.

Investment

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation helped launch the school network with a $3 million investment in 2003 to form an initial group of five charter schools. ^[4] In 2006, the foundation invested another $6.9 million aimed at helping the program duplicate its arts and technology programs.

Schools

Current

• City Arts & Leadership Academy in San Francisco, opened in 2004 with an inaugural class of 100 freshmen. ^[5] The school now has students in all four high school grades starting with the 2007-08 school year. CAT graduated its first class of seniors in 2008.
• Envision Academy of Arts & Technology in Oakland, California, opened in 2003 ^[6] . In the 2024-25 school year, it served about 200 students in grades 6-12. ^[7]
• Impact Academy of Arts & Technology in Hayward, California, opened for 2007-08 with 125 students in grade 9. ^[8] Today, it serves over 700 students in grades 6-12.

Combined with other Envision Schools

• Marin School of Arts and Technology (MSAT), Novato, California
• Metropolitan Arts and Technology Highschool, San Francisco, California

References

1. Connie Matthiessen (July 17, 2014). "Charter School Integrates 'Deeper Learning'". EdSource. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
2. "Rebooting the American High School With Neuroscience and Purpose Learning". Sanford Social Innovation Review. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
3. Lenz, Bob. "A Model for Charter Schools: The Marin School of Arts and Technology", The George Lucas Educational Foundation. Accessed December 15, 2007.
4. "New Investment in Envision’s Network of Charter High Schools Boosts Efforts to Expand" Archived 2007-10-10 at the Wayback Machine , Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation press release dated November 29, 2005.
5. Knight, Heather. "Mayor's visit energizes Ingleside charter school's inaugural class", San Francisco Chronicle , December 24, 2004. Accessed December 16, 2007.
6. "About us". www.envisionacademy.org. Retrieved December 20, 2025.
7. "Official Enrollment Based on CDE Data". 2025.
8. "Charter schools safer, quieter, report finds", Neil Gonzales and Kristofer Noceda, Inside Bay Area, 12 November 2007